


Be happy again.

by PainfullyPisces



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Major Character(s), Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24214159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PainfullyPisces/pseuds/PainfullyPisces
Summary: ON (SHORT) HIATUS! After Fred's death, George struggles until he meets Julia, a muggle who's raising a daughter with magical abilities. In a moment of spontaneous kindness, George gives them his contact info, in case they need help figuring out the wizarding world, which it turns out they do, perhaps more than George expected but he can't complain that he finally has a distraction from mourning.I have to say: This idea was originally created by rewritingtheficitional on Tumblr, so a big thank you to them for letting me give this amazing idea a shot!
Relationships: George Weasley/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. Prologue: Once upon a time...

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter, baby!!!  
> I hope you have a good time with this fic, or as good as you can with this heartbreaker of a prologue :)) Also, I know the rhyming is weird, I'd just finished a writing exercise where you had to make everything rhyme and it stuck with me lol it's only the prologue don't worry.

Once upon a time,  
There lived two brothers. Twins they were, with matching hair in the colour of flame, toothpaste grins and a desire to be great that no-one could tame.  
The pair was happy together, and nearly inseparable, and no one in the Burrow nor at Hogwarts could cause such a spectacle  
when they thought it was right, they’d gladly fight- but mostly they didn’t;  
if a foe gave them trouble the brothers would get hold of fireworks and stink bombs enough to give them double. Safe to say, soon when they’d appear most of their enemies were already hiding away.  
The two grew up smiling through life. There weren’t the issues they’d not take in their stride and though they had little money, they didn’t mind: “We have each other and our families, that’s more than money and power combined!”  
Eventually, lady luck paid off: they were given a thousand galleons by a friend, no, a brother, they thought,  
“Start your business,” he said, with a grin, “after all, we could all use a laugh, in the end.”  
And now, the two brothers really soared - business was booming, their pensions sorted,  
“By Merlin, we’ll never need to worry again!” They said, choosing the joke business sure proved to be the correct route,  
So imagine their shock when war broke out for they were used to being to ones who spread chaos about!  
But the two young men were, as mentioned, not afraid to bite, they’d surely not go down without a fight!  
So they joined an order, a secret cause, to save their friends, family and the rest of the world, of course!  
To fight they wanted and fought they did. Losing an ear proved to be a great business trick: for now their new product: The extendable ear was selling quick.  
But it wasn’t all laughs and jokes, and when one was injured the other dared to say,  
“I couldn’t keep living if you were always away.”  
The other brother listened, then said: “Fred, to think I’d ever die before you, you must be mislead. I’m not going anywhere, that much is true, and no matter what happens, I’ll always be with you.”  
And so they carried on, into the final battle, nearly convinced that even death they could straddle.  
The two were almost inseparable, first and foremost, but in the heat of the battle they were only seen together for half an hour at most, the two lost each other with the shouted promise to try to find the other,  
“Once all this is over, I’ll find you, brother.”  
So when the worst did pass, the one-eared twin searched and searched, in fact, all around the castle he marched. But Fred was nowhere, nowhere at all. Until his twin rounded a corner and saw a wall fall.  
He saw people stirring in the rubble and dirt and hoped with all his heart that one of them was Fred, but when the dust cleared he found that his twin was dead.  
For years, the two were together, their dreams and hopes as identical as their appearance. But now there was only one of them left to mourn over the other’s disappearance. For what was he to do now, the one who’d been left behind? where was his brother who was always so kind? He couldn’t sell jokes, couldn’t possibly laugh, stupid and awful seemed now the skiving snacks and invisibility hats.  
No, said the brother, I simply won’t do it. I’ll take some time off, forever perhaps, what difference does it make anyway, he thought with a scoff.  
So the shop ran itself, and he locked himself up. Feeling miserable and lonely, his hopes down the drain.  
For when one’s brother dies, how could you ever feel happy again…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK: so first off, I'm sorry for starting this story off with such a sad prologue lol but it is tagged hurt/comfort for a reason. And also, I know it's tagged as George x reader, even though I gave Julia a name, it just seemed easier to write the story that way. If you hate it too much, or just want yourself in her place I recommend the interactive fics extension, it's super handy (I use it all the time, cause I find it distracting reading y/n all the time heh) and it allows you to change the name to anything you want :)


	2. You're not from around here, are you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On George's first day back after Fred's death, mid-closing, the shop's alarm goes off. Expecting a burglar or some daredevil teens running away, he heads for the front of the shop. But he isn't met with someone running away but instead someone heading directly for the shop's entrance, dragging her kid with her.

George’s first day back had been O.K. He’d come in around 10, checked with Verity and cooped himself up in his office most of the day, only answering any questions Verity or the others had for him. A few times he’d taken a short round of the shop but hadn’t stopped to talk nearly as much as he used to. He still couldn’t bear it. His conversations seemed cut short as if he still half-expected his twin to interrupt and add to his sentences, and when Fred didn’t, George’s sentences hadn’t taken up the remaining space, instead: George Weasley had become a man of few words. Now it was half-past six, and the shop had nearly closed. George had sent the other workers home and was sorting out a few documents he’d been putting off signing before he thought he’d go and lock the entrances. He expected he’d go upstairs, slowly, for walking into the apartment was not much different than walking around the shop without the banter from his twin. Equally empty. That was when the shops’ alarm system went off. George gave a start, he’d completely forgotten what it sounded like, and especially how loud it was. It had been Fred’s idea to make it that way, he’d figured it would scare the culprit enough to make them refrain from trying to steal from them again. It didn’t sound like a regular alarm, it was more of several alarms mixed together into a cacophony of ringing, whining and trumpeting, George thought he heard a car horn as he headed for the front of the shop. He expected to see someone running away from the shop but instead was met by the sight of a young woman hastily dragging a young girl with her towards the front door. George bent behind the counter and turned the switch as they entered. The woman stopped in front of the desk and pointed to the girl, a little exasperated, “I’m really sorry, it seems my daughter accidentally took something from you, and she’d very much like to return it now-” She looked down and locked eyes with the girl- “isn’t that right Fae?” George looked down at the girl - she didn’t look much older than 6- who placed a box on the desk and stared up at him in silence as if she half expected him to start yelling at her. George didn’t know what to say to her, so instead, he looked at what she’d taken, the picture of the ship and two swooning youths told him immediately what it was,

“Ah, patented daydream charm, huh?” He thought out loud, the girl didn’t answer, her mother stared, George thought the way the girl stood there petrified reminded him of Ginny a little, a smile tugged at his lips, he leaned on the desk, “You know, I can’t sell it to you unless you’re 16, it's not safe for kids,” He said, the girl looked mortified now, George suppressed a laugh, “but, I can show you something that might be a bit more age-appropriate-” He pointed to a shelf behind them and started towards it, he trailed his hand over the contents of the shelf for a moment, contemplating what would suit the girl best, “Ah,” He said as his hand landed on a box,

“Fae was it?”

“Yes,” the girl said,

“How’s your spelling, Fae?” George asked, handing her the box containing the reusable hangman, she studied it for a moment, her mother peering over her shoulder,

“I don’t get it,” Fae said, looking up at George, who frowned,

“Well, d’you wanna try it?”

“Oh, I’m sure the man wants to close his shop, Fae, we don’t want to be a bother,” Fae's mother looked up at George apologetically, her hands already on Fae’s shoulders, “No, no it’s alright,” He said, “I have time.”

“Really?” The woman asked,

“A good businessman always has time for his customer,” George said with a grin. Fae smiled, “Now, shall we try it?” George asked her,

“Can I try other things too?” Fae asked,

“Is there something else you’d rather try?” George answered. Fae pointed to the firework display,

“What about those?” she asked, her mother looked at George, her mouth a thin line,

“Erh, well,” George answered, “I suppose so?” he’d hardly finished his sentence before Fae was at the display, looking over the different boxes, George glanced at the woman before following, she looked nervous, to say the least, which George only half understood, _was he really that intimidating without his ear?_ He grabbed a Crystal Incantation Comet and showed it to Fae, who was eyeing the Weasleys’ Wildfire Whizbangs with great interest.

“I think these would suit you a bit better,” he said,

“But,” Fae hesitated, “these look cooler.” She said quietly, George didn’t hold back his chuckle now,

“They are cool, but I suggest building up to them, start with this one.” He said and handed it to her,

“You said that I could try them,” Fae said matter-of-factly, George shrugged a little, “If your mother here doesn’t mind?” He looked at the woman, who’d remained behind, eyeing the back where the muggle tricks sat. George wasn’t surprised by this; quite a few people his age (and older) were interested in them, not enough to buy them, but he suspected most wizards and witches found it amusing to see what a muggle would define as “magic”. She looked at him then at the box then at Fae.

“Erh, aren’t they just normal fireworks?” She asked,

“No, mum, they’re _magical fireworks_ -” Fae said in a tone that again reminded George of Ginny at that age, and perhaps Percy too, if he was honest, “right?” She looked up at George who nodded,

“As magical as they come.” He answered. The mother looked at the box with some hesitation,

“Meaning what exactly?” she asked, George’s brow creased a little,

“well mostly that they’re better than anything you'll find in a muggle shop, and you can affect them with certain spells, the Whizbangs are unstoppable until they run out of power in their own time, any attempt to shrink or stop them only makes them double,” when the woman gave him a look that seemed the closest a human could come to mimic the words _no, thank you_ without actually saying it, George shifted in his track, “these aren’t so extreme, they’re a bit quicker, and not as intense, but they’re just as fun.” He explained.

“What’s the most magical thing you have?” Fae asked, again George had an inkling in the back of his head, but he didn’t react on it,

“Well that depends on what you mean with magical, I have weather-”

“Weather?” Fae asked,

“Yeah, I can make it snow anywhere, is that magical enough?”

“Yes! Can you show me?” Fae said, and George nodded,

“If you stay right here-” He moved towards the stairs in the middle of the shop,

“Can you really?” Fae’s mother asked as he passed her, he smirked at her while he started to climb the stairs,

“Wait and see for yourself,” he said. He opened a cabinet with a key he kept in his pocket and took out a white bottle, he walked over to the edge of the upper floor from which he could look down at an excited Fae, who no longer resembled the timid girl he’d met only minutes earlier, and next to her stood her mother, looking more concerned and slightly suspicious.

“Are you ready?” George called, a yell from Fae answered his question, and he pressed down on the pump which made the bottle exclaim a great fizz along with a spray of soft, real looking snowflakes. George pressed the pump a couple more times, then got a new bottle and went down the stairs. Fae was holding her hands out catching the snowflakes in her palms, while her mother stood and stared at the real as life snowflakes slowly descended downwards, her mouth shaped into a shocked ‘O’. George had to admit, as much as he preferred the pyrotechnics and pranks, the weather series they’d created was stunning too: The snowflakes sparkled in the vivid, early summer sun, turning them orange, though the magic in them made some of them have a persistent blueish purple sheen making them resemble diamonds more than snow.

“Wow,” Fae breathed, as she craned her neck to look up at the ceiling, where the snowflakes continued to emerge from seemingly out of nowhere. Her mother turned to George, her eyes wide, “How did you do that?” she said softly, George grinned,

“As much as I’d love to tell you, Mrs…?” He trailed off when he realised he hadn’t asked for her name yet,

“Julia,” she said, “just Julia- no Mrs.” she added, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear,

“Right, just Julia,” George continued, “as much as I’d love to tell you, I’m afraid I have to keep that a secret, can’t have people knowing how it's all made, it removes interest.”

“Like magicians?” Julia said, George thought for a moment, “I suppose?” he answered, not sure what exactly a magician had to do with secrets,

“Can we please buy it?” Fae asked, tucking at Julia’s jacket,

“Yes we can,” Julia said, and George gestured to the front desk, stepping behind it and placing the bottle in a box, then in a bag, “It won’t ruin my floors or anything, will it?” Julia asked, smiling the most genuine smile she’d shown all the time she’d been there, George laughed,

“Don't worry, it won’t,” he chuckled as he handed her the bag, “That’ll be 3 galleons, 5 sickles and 12 knuts.” George popped open the register out of habit. Julia said a small “oh right” and found a small money bag inside her purse, which she fumbled with for a long moment, where George and Fae watched Julia pick up coins, examine them only to drop them back in again and gather another couple, George tilted his head with a frown,

“You’re not from around here are you?” He asked. He didn’t know how else to phrase it, asking _are you a muggle?_ seemed too straightforward and interrogative. Julia looked up at him,

“Is it that obvious?” she asked. George frowned again, now that he was aware of it, she certainly wasn’t sporting any kind of wizard robes but that wasn’t unusual for people his age, though her confusion and hesitation towards the shop certainly made more sense now. He gave her a compassionate smile and reached out his hand for the money bag, which Julia gave him with an air of embarrassment that George shrugged off, he didn’t think there was any reason for her to be embarrassed,

“The money system here never made sense, anyway,” He mumbled and Julia chuckled. George’s eyes flickered up to look at her quickly, then returned to the money. He picked out the correct amount quickly and handed the bag back to her.

“I’m guessing that you don’t have anyone in your family who’s a witch or wizard?” He asked, resting his hands on the desk, Julia’s smile turned sheepish,

“Erh, no-” her hand flew up to fidget with the strap of her purse, her other held Fae’s hand, “I honestly didn’t know all this existed until Fae got her letter, and suddenly this woman was at our door and-” She shook her head as if trying to rustle all the puzzle pieces together, “It’s a lot to take in if I’m honest.” She sighed, squeezing Fae’s hand, Fae simply looked up at Julia with a slight frown.

“Well, you must’ve had an idea of Fae being a witch,” George said, then realised how strange that sounded and hurriedly added “I mean, she must’ve shown signs, right? most of us do when we’re kids.” He nodded at Fae, who beamed,

“I made the pictures fall off the wall,” she said, puffing out her chest, Julia and George both chuckled,

“Nearly scared the life out of me, is what you did,” Julia said, nudging her daughter a little, “but yes, she did make strange things occur but I somehow never thought to even consider- I mean you have to understand,” Julia sounded apologetic and George shook his head a little,

“No, I do understand, it’s foreign to you, it makes sense that you’d think along more scientific lines. I suppose it’s just so ordinary for us that we know to look for signs in our own children, so we never question it when someone shows signs of magic,” he said. Then he thought for a moment. “You really don’t have anyone to consult about all this stuff?” George asked. He didn’t know why but something told him to offer to help Julia, despite not knowing her at all. Julia shrugged,

“I mean, no - the woman from the school told me to come here, find some books on the subject, get to know the currency, stuff like that. But no.” She said with an it-is-what-it-is smile. George searched one of the drawers in the desk,

“Why don’t I-” he pulled out a quill and a block of paper, originally meant for taking postal orders- “give you my info, then you can ask for help, if there’s anything you need, like figuring out the currency, for example,” he said with a slight smirk, Julia mouthed wordlessly before stuttering:

“No-No I couldn’t - it’s- I-” George held out the piece of paper,

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to but just in case, it might be nice to have someone who knows about all this stuff ready to help, don’t you think?” He said. Julia looked at the paper for a bit before taking it,

“Thank you, you’re really too kind- erh…” She trailed off, much as he had done himself,

“George,” he said,

“Right, well thank you, George, really you have no idea- what am I supposed to do with your address?” She asked as she looked at the paper again, George frowned,

“Well, it’s so you can send me an owl, you just tell it the address, and-” He stopped, Julia was staring at him like he’d grown another head,

“Owl?” she said, “don’t wizards have phones?” she added, George thought for a moment,

“I think I might have one in the back,” he said, “my dad cares a lot about muggle technology and stuff, so I can use that one, maybe?” He said,

“Great, what’s your number?” Julia asked,

“Uhm…”

“You don’t know what your own phone number is?” Fae asked,

“Well, I’ve never really had to use it,” George admitted.

“Tell you what, I’ll give you my number, and then you can call me, let it ring until after it beeps, then leave a message, so I can hear what your number is and write it down, ok?” Julia said, grabbing the quill and writing down her number. George noticed she wrote something else below it. “Here you go,” She said, “and thank you again, George, really,” she said with an earnest smile which George gladly returned.

“No problem,” George said honestly. 

“Say thank you, Fae,” Julia said,

“Thank you, George,” Fae said, “and I’m sorry for stealing from you. I just wanted to show mum,”

“It’s quite alright,” George chuckled, “I hope you enjoy the snow.” Fae glanced behind her several times whilst they walked down the street toward the end of Diagon Alley, and George waved every time until he couldn’t see them anymore. Then he headed upstairs, dreading the quiet apartment and being alone more so than he had earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to quickly explain, that in order for this to work, I got the idea that muggleborn witches and wizards get their letter much earlier when they show their first real signs of being able to perform magic, in order for their parents to become accustomed to the wizarding world and so on. And also because if Julia had a ten-year-old while being George's age, she'd had her when she was like,,,11?? so, Fae's five (almost six) and Julia's a couple of years older than George, and they've already been visited by McGonagall, cause if I remember correctly, magical kids are enrolled at birth??? so it's not too far off from canon lol - anywho, enjoy the chapter! <3


	3. Oh, I used to do that.

It had been a mere week and a half when Julia called George.  _ He’d rung the phone, staring at the note from her, which said her number and underneath _ “ _ Remember to dial and WAIT until after the beep, leave a message if you’d like. _ ” 

_ He’d waited whilst the phone gave low hums, then a voice said “Hi, this is Julia and if you’re hearing this then I can’t come to the phone right now, please leave a message after the beep and I’ll get back to you, thanks.” followed by a beep, and then silence where George contemplated what to say, then he’d muttered, “Call me if you need help.” only to cringe at himself while the phone beeped again and he was met by a low buzz. He’d put the phone down with a sigh _ . 

She’d called him in midst of his dinner (he’d taken the phone upstairs from the workshop downstairs where it’d stayed for the past two years.), 

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” she said. George glanced at the place he’d been sitting before, a single plate and a single glass, he returned to look out the window the phone was placed next to, “No, not at all.” he said, 

“Oh good, it’s just, you see - this is going to sound crazy \- but Fae has somehow managed to turn her hair, well...” 

“... _ Well? _ ” 

“Well, let’s just say it’s not the colour it usually is,  _ a colour I very much like, by the way _ ,” the last bit sounded like it was directed at Fae more than at George, he smiled when he thought he could hear her grumble an answer in the background, 

“Oh, I used to do that when I was at that age. How did she do it? does she know?” 

“Yes, I let her buy a book with spells for kids? I dunno, I thought maybe it’d help her control her magic, seeing as she doesn’t have a wand yet but apparently it creates more chaos than control.” 

“Does it say anything about how to reverse it?” 

“Yes, but I don’t understand a word of it, and neither does Fae.” George could hear the flipping of pages, 

“Hm, well, I can’t return it to normal unless I’m there physically, so you’ll have to bring her to the store.” 

“Ok, do you have time now? I don’t want to be any trouble to you but I’d appreciate if we could change it before Fae goes to school tomorrow; the other kids (and teachers) might find it strange if Fae’s hair goes from full rainbow to normal in under 48 hours - no, Fae that would  **not** be  **_cool_ ** …”

“Alright, I have time now, just bring her over, and I’ll see what I can do, and bring the book too, just in case.” 

“Ok, thank you, George, I’ll be seeing you.” 

“See you.” 

*** 

When Julia had mentioned Fae’s hair had been turned rainbow coloured, it certainly hadn’t been an understatement. George had spotted them from far away and had burst into laughter at the sight of them. Fae’s hair, which had been quite normal before, had now been turned into a brilliant display of colors so bright they were almost neon, and best of all, it seemed to have no pattern; one lock was bright pink, the next a strange chartreuse, the third orange, the next a completely different colour and so on. Julia looked extremely tired. 

“Hello, Fae,” George said, as Fae marched into the store, looking mildly irritated that her hair had to be turned back, 

“Hullo, George,” She said, frowning. 

“Hi,” Julia said, sighing as she handed George the book. He looked over the front cover as Fae jumped up onto the front desk, 

_ “ _ _ One-hundred-and-five easy spells for witches and wizards under the age of 12.  _

_ Dazzle your friends and family with quick, easy and wand-free spells and hexes _ ”

“It’s page 84,” Julia said, and George turned the pages, 

“Oh,” George said, as he read the page, 

“What? Is it bad?” Julia asked, stepping over to stand next to George, looking at the book,

“No, this should be fairly easy,” George said, “hold on-” He grabbed his wand from his pocket and looked at the book again, then pointed it at Fae, 

“Hold on!” Julia said, gripping his arm, George stared at her hand, “it’s not going to hurt her, is it?” she asked, 

“What?!” Fae exclaimed, staring at the wand, George pointed it at the ground, he could feel where Julia’s hand had been, it was warmer than the rest of him, “No, not at all, or at least it shouldn’t.” He said. “But I should probably tell you that it needs a wand to reverse the spell, so probably don’t use these too much hm, Fae?” George explained. Fae nodded begrudgingly. 

“But for now, just sit still, alright?” George pointed the wand at Fae again, “ _ Contra capitallura _ ” he said, and waved his wand. Fae’s hair returned to normal starting at the roots as the colour seemed to slip from her hair simply as if it had been painted on. 

“There you go, as good as new,” George said. 

“Oh, thank God,” Julia said before turning to Fae, “you cannot use that spell again,” 

“but!” Fae exclaimed, 

“Not until you have a wand at least,” Julia said. Fae sighed deeply and crossed her arms. 

“You know, I have something that works the same way, but is a lot easier to return to normal if you’re interested?” George said, 

“Really? What is it?” Fae asked, her face brightening up a little, though her arms remained crossed across her chest, 

“Hold on,” George said, fetching a hairbrush in a box off a shelf, “This is the comb-a-chameleon: it’ll change your hair colour and hairstyle into anything you want, and it’ll always revert back to normal after a bath.” He said, handing it to her, 

“Cool!” Fae said, 

“What does it cost?” Julia asked. George shrugged, “You can have it for free,” 

“Really?” Julia raised a brow, 

“ _ Really _ , I figure it’s better than having to come here every time Fae decides to change hair colour.” He said with a grin, 

“Thank you, George,” Julia said, 

“You don’t have to thank me so much,” George said, “it’s the least I can do, you know.” 

“Right,” Julia said, “well, I suppose we’re all done here, come on Fae.” She reached out her hand for Fae to take it, but Fae didn’t move.    
“But we just got here!” She said, 

“Well, it’s a weeknight and you’ve got school tomorrow, and I’m sure George needs to get up early tomorrow,” Fae said, “right, George?” 

“Erh,” George thought about how he’d gone in later and later in the day for the past week, he still had trouble sleeping so he’d had to catch up once the morning came and he finally dozed off, 

“But mooom,” Fae drawled, and sent Julia some puppy eyes that would’ve convinced George, but Julia didn’t budge so easily, “Nope, not today, love,” 

“We’ll go see George again some other time,” Julia coaxed when Fae still didn’t move, 

“Can he come with us to the park?” Fae asked, 

“Well, why don’t you ask George that?” Julia answered, looking at George, 

“George, will you come to the park with us?” Fae asked, 

“Sure,” George said, he also didn’t remember the last time he’d gone to a place with nature. He hadn’t been to the burrow in what seemed like forever, he’d been offered more than a couple of times by his parents, his mother frantically sending letters, he’d turned them down, when he thought of sleeping in his childhood bedroom he felt sick, 

“When?” 

“This Friday, we always go after school,” Fae said, “mum says it’s good to walk on Fridays, it helps to clear your head,” she explained, 

“It’s stupid, really” Julia started, 

“No, it sounds great, I could use some clearing up top.” George said with a smile, Fae let out a giggle, 

“Alright, does that mean you will come with me then?” Julia asked Fae jumped down from the counter. 

“G’night, George.” Fae said, 

“G’night, Fae,” He answered, 

“I’ll call you tomorrow and then we can arrange where to meet up Friday,” Julia said, 

“Have a good night.” 

“You too,” He smiled. He was certain he wouldn’t. 


	4. I still see him when I sleep.

George couldn’t sleep. His sleeping had been sporadic since the war, since Fred. He had the same routine: bed at nine, lay there unable to find rest for two or more hours, sleep in short spurts of reliving painful memories until around 4, where George found himself awake again, shaken just enough by his dreams that he could not, nor wanted to go back to sleep. Instead, he laid there, staring up at his ceiling, until he picked up a pillow and covered his face with it, clenching it tight, and then slowly started to shake softly as he’d begin to sob. 

He’d get up at six, sometimes later if he passed out from exhaustion when morning came, and then he’d sit around with a cup of coffee trying not to blink. For when he blinked that would be when Fred’s face appeared before his inner vision, the same as when he slept. He still saw him when he slept. In that sense, Fred wasn’t gone. In that sense, Fred still wore the same grin he always did, still laughed louder than most people, still dazzled people, including George, with his genius ideas.

When was the last time George had had an idea? He couldn’t say. He didn’t want any new ideas. It wasn’t the same without him there. What was the point in pretending to be happy, selling people this business, making people laugh? He could barely smile himself without feeling guilty. Well except for… 

He didn’t know why, but when he’d met Julia and Fae, smiling had come easier. Maybe because Fae reminded him so much of his sister, who he missed but didn’t want to speak to because he knew that if he spoke to Ginny, she’d eventually speak to his mother, who’d then come and force him to move back home where he couldn’t stand to be. Maybe it was because seeing Julia bewildered with magic and having the solution to her problems made him feel in control. He wondered for a moment what Fred would’ve thought of them, then his face contorted, curling forward on his sofa, his head in his hands. He couldn’t think of him without feeling this rush: a wave of something that seemed stronger than emotion, something that made his insides churn, made him feel sick and clammy and as if the world was being torn apart by a seam, spilling everything inside. He tried to breathe. It felt like he was underwater; he was certain he could feel the turbulent current. 

_ Think of something else, anything, anything at all.  _

But he kept seeing Fred instead. Every image that came to mind he’d haunt, no: corrupt. His twin treading into it and George almost felt angry because as far as he was concerned, his twin didn’t have any business dying and then making it this hard on him. 

_ The least you could do is give me peace, Fred. _

He thought he might be going insane, he had thought that an awful lot since the war. But every time, after sitting there feeling he was drowning, thinking that it was only a matter of time before his mind would give in and his lungs would start to take in the dark, murky water, his limbs would unfurl, his head would clear and the current would calm until he felt no more than like any other man sitting in a sofa, his cup of coffee now cold because he’d dozed off for a moment in the early morning hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typically ignore Fred's death (denial is my best friend when it comes to HP deaths lol) but writing this was actually kind of....nice? I think grief is an interesting topic, and I think the type of grief George would feel probably exceeds most forms of physical pain, which is a good challenge as a writer, to mimic that form of inner despair is tough cause it's one of those emotions that people can't describe, I imagine it's just so much emotion that you feel so overwhelmed you just stop functioning, hence the drowning metaphor. Poor George, honestly this is why I never write about Fred's death. We'll pretend this once and then we'll go back to him living, okay?


	5. You seem sad for a man that runs a joke shop.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George meets Julia and Fae for a walk, and they open up just a little.

Friday comes along quickly and soon George finds himself walking through St. James’ park. He walks slowly, looking at the plants and people. He sees the families with children, teenagers that look like they’re on their just off from school, deeply invested in their conversations, an old couple sat on a bench together. He always found it strange, seeing all the muggles, how did they not know about everything that had happened just a year prior? what would happen if they knew? He can’t imagine not knowing a war is happening in his own country but the ignorance doesn’t hurt them, he supposes.   
He meets Fae and Julia at a small pond, Fae’s full of energy and waves excitedly at George who responds with an equally big wave back at her as Fae positively springs forwards to meet him, Julia following behind her,  
“George! you’ll never believe this, yesterday I made the cat fly!” Fae shouts, earning a few strange looks from people passing by them but George grins,   
“Did you really? I reckon that would have been a bit of a shock for it,” he says, “what does your mother think of that?” He asks as Julia catches up to them,   
“She thinks I’m being reckless but I told her that for my age it’s really impressive and it is, isn’t it?” Fae asks and George has to agree, it is,   
“Blimey, you’re almost as talented as I was at your age, which is quite a feat, might I add,” He jokes,   
“Did you make things float too?”   
“Well, amongst other things, I did,” George says,   
They walk together and Fae talks excitedly about school and her new books on magic, which she’s learning from fast, a little too fast according to Julia whom George doesn’t speak with much on the walk because of Fae’s constant stream of words. They first get a chance to talk when they buy coffee and watch Fae run around an outdoor playground. They stand next to each other in silence until Julia speaks up,   
“You look tired,” She says plainly, George looks to her, her face is calm and a small smile plays on her lips, but it doesn’t disguise the slight worry in her eyes,   
“I’m OK, it’s just been a bit busy at the shop.” George lies, pretending to examine the coffee.  
“Do you run it all by yourself?” Julia asks, and George cracks a small smile,   
“No, I have a few employees to work the register and storage, my brother’s been helping out since,” and he trails off, Julia doesn’t know about the war, doesn’t know about Fred and George has a strange urge not to tell her the whole truth yet, it still feels like too much too soon.   
“Since Christmas,” He says, “He’s recently out of school and, in fairness, I could use the extra help,” immediately, George feels a strange mixture of emotions stir, he feels guilty that he’s not being completely honest, both towards Julia but also because it feels oddly traitorous not to talk about Fred, then he feels the grief begin to weigh on him again, and he doesn’t realise how his eyes are watering until he blinks,   
“You know, it is really something to be able to levitate things at Fae’s age,” He says, Julia looks at Fae on the monkey bars and smiles,   
“I know, I just worry that if she gets any better she’ll be unable to control it,” She says, taking a sip of her coffee,   
“I doubt that she won’t be,” George then says, “mostly the big accidents occur when they’re really little, control comes with age, unless you intend on causing trouble, like me and my brother did but Fae seems like she doesn’t mean harm,” George says, smiling at the memory of him and Fred pranking their siblings, though the smile fades as the inevitable sting that, since the war, comes with every memory of them together, hits him in the chest,   
“What did you do?” Julia asks, looking genuinely curious to hear what other wizards and witches do at Fae’s age,   
“Lots of things, mostly we went for pranks, Fred got a hold of our older brother’s wand once and transfigured our younger brother’s teddy bear into a spider, I don’t think he ever recovered his fear of them since,” he recalls and he can’t help but chuckle a little as he sees Ron’s terrified face before his inner vision,   
“That is cruel. Is he the one who works with you?” Julia asks,   
“who?”   
“Fred?” Julia says, and George completely doesn’t know how to react. It’s been a while since he’s heard the name spoken to him, Ron never brings it up when he’s at the shop, and as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, George hasn’t spoken to any of his family or friends in a long while. He just couldn’t take the coddling from his mother or the pity from his siblings any longer, he knew they meant well, knew they were hurting too but he couldn’t bear it any longer, he just needed a break. George wonders for a moment what he should say, as he sips his coffee,   
“No, that’s my younger brother, Ron, Fred’s my twin,” George says it rather stiffly, he even stumbles a bit over his words as he avoids saying was to avoid telling Julia about it. It was oddly refreshing not to have every conversation be turned into a question of how he was holding up, which was poorly, but Julia didn’t need to know that. At least not for now.   
“Why doesn’t your twin help you?” Julia asks, “I mean, it sounds like he was as much in on the pranks as you were,”   
George can’t blame Fae for picking up new magic quickly, after all, Julia seems incredibly intelligent,   
“Yeah,” George begins but he doesn’t know what to say without saying everything all at once, and he doesn’t want that yet so instead he remains silent, eyes fixated on the ground,   
“Sorry,” Julia says, “I didn’t mean to be rude or anything I just wondered when you said,”   
“It’s ok,” George says and offers her a somewhat stiff smile, which she returns. They return to watching Fae.   
“You know, you seem very sad for a man who runs a joke shop,” Julia says, “I figured you’d have to be exceedingly positive to even come up with those things,”   
well, there’s a reason for that, George thinks but instead, he nudges Julia softly and replies,   
“Rude!” and chuckles,  
He’ll tell her why he seems sad eventually, George thinks to himself. Just not yet.

**Author's Note:**

> So, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Julia. I know that it's tagged George x reader, however, I found it a lot easier to just give Julia a name, and then give the reader the option to *imagine* themselves in her place, or change it using the interactive fics chrome extension (I use it all the time, it's super handy if you're tired of reading y/n etc. ((you can also change full names like, say, Julia - wink wink)) it's free and easy to use - I am not sponsored by it or anything lol I'm just a big fan)  
> So if it puts you off that Julia has a name, and is therefore undeniably her own character, even though I tried to keep her as reader-neutral as possible, then I'm really sorry and again I cannot recommend the interactive fics enough if you're not into OC's!!!


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